Category: News Releases

News Releases

New Vice President Appointed at Kalamazoo College

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CONTACT: Jeff Palmer, 269.337.5724

Nov. 30, 2010

Kalamazoo College has appointed Albert J. DeSimone vice president for college advancement. DeSimone brings more than 25 years of higher education development and management experience to Kalamazoo, where he will lead the College’s fundraising, alumni relations, and communications offices. Among his responsibilities will be overseeing annual gift giving and directing the College’s comprehensive campaign initiative begun in March 2010. He begins work at “K” January 3, 2011.

From 1993 to 2008, DeSimone served as vice president for development at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. In this role, he conducted two highly successful comprehensive campaigns that raised more than $207 million and significantly increased unrestricted giving to the college. For the past 18 months, he has focused on securing major gifts toward strategic priorities such as renovating Old Main, Augustana’s signature building, constructed in 1889.

“I have great respect for Kalamazoo College and its commitment to innovative liberal arts education, as exemplified by the K-Plan,” said DeSimone. “I look forward to working with President Wilson-Oyelaran and the entire “K” community to increase the resources that will help fulfill this commitment and prepare students to engage the global community.”

Prior to joining Augustana, DeSimone served in a variety of development roles at Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago, ranging initially from securing corporate grants to eventually managing day-to-day fund-raising and alumni relations programs. He also planned and implemented a comprehensive campaign that raised more than $92 million.

“I am thrilled to welcome Al DeSimone to Kalamazoo College,” said President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran. “He has a depth of knowledge and a breadth of experience that make him an excellent fit for the College. We have bold plans to prepare ‘K’ students to engage in the global community. Al will play a key role in securing the philanthropic support and building the relationships that will help make these plans a reality.”

DeSimone earned a B.A. degree from Elmhurst College in 1977. He and his wife, Lynne, have two sons, ages 21 and 18.

He replaces Victoria Gorrell, who left Kalamazoo in October to become vice president for development and alumni relations at University of Northern Colorado.

Founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1833, Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu) is a nationally recognized liberal arts college, and the creator of the “K-Plan” that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, learning by practice, and both international and intercultural engagement.

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Kalamazoo College Readies for Homecoming 2010

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CONTACT: Jim VanSweden, 269.337.7291

(KALAMAZOO, Michigan) A record high 1,000 alumni and guests have registered to attend the 2010 Homecoming Weekend at Kalamazoo College, Oct. 15-17. All alumni are invited, and special reunion events are being planned for class years that end in 0 and 5. This year’s Homecoming Weekend will also include Emeritus Club reunions for the classes of 1940, 1945, 1950, 1955, and 1960.

A full schedule of events is available at www.kzoo.edu/homecoming. Reunion highlights include: a 5K run/walkthrough campus and surrounding neighborhoods; a Professional Development Institute that connects “K” alumni to current students in order to help students prepare for “life after ‘K’”; a “College Update” with President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran; a showcase of student documentary films; a poetry reading by professors Di Seuss and Gail Griffin; tours of the College’s 60-acre campus near downtown Kalamazoo, 140-acre Lillian Anderson Arboretum in Oshtemo Township, and A.M. Todd Rare Book Room in Upjohn Library Commons; countless alumni gatherings on campus and around Kalamazoo; receptions featuring current and former “K” faculty; alumni soccer and volleyball games; and, yes, a football game (Kalamazoo “Hornets” vs. Olivet, 1:00 Saturday at Angell Field).

The annual Alumni Association Awards Ceremony (Friday, 7:30 pm, Dalton Theatre, Light Fine Arts Building) honors several “K” alumni and employees for their distinguished achievement, service, athletic accomplishment, and contribution to the College. This year’s award recipients are:

Larry Bell ’80, recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award presented to alumni in recognition of their excellence and achievement in their professional field. Bell is president and founder of Bell’s Brewery, one of country’s oldest and most successful microbreweries, and a recognized leader in the craftbrewing industry. Beginning in 1983 with $200 as a birthday present from his mother, and investment funds and in-kind support from numerous individuals, Bell now presides over a company that sells more than 150,000 barrels of beer annually in 18 states—and is poised for even greater growth. Larry has also participated in a number of alumni panel discussions for students, hosted class reunions for his classmates, and provided significant funding for the Farms to K local foods initiative, and other College initiatives.

Jon Stryker ’82, recipient of the Distinguished Service Award presented to a person that has made exceptional personal contributions to the College and has performed effectively in leadership positions. Stryker is president and founder of the Arcus Foundation that works to achieve social justice that is inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race, and to ensure conservation and respect of the great apes. An architect by training, his generous support has helped sustain many of the College’s most distinctive programs and highest priorities including study abroad and enrollment diversity. Most recently the Arcus Foundation has provided the funding and vision to establish the College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, whose mission is to support the pursuit of human rights and social justice by developing emerging leaders and sustaining existing leaders in the field of human rights and social justice. Stryker also serves on the College’s board of trustees.

Kim Cummings, professor emeritus of sociology, recipient of the Weimer K. Hicks Award that honors current or retired employees who have provided significant long-term contribution to the College. Officially retired from Kalamazoo College in 2007, Cummings’ legacy as a teacher, mentor, and friend to generations of “K” students continues to this day. Having spent nearly four decades teaching sociology at Kalamazoo, Kim not only taught students the fundamentals of the subject, but through such classes at “Building Blocks” and “How to Change the World” he also introduced them to a world of citizen activism and service-learning beyond the confines of College’s Academy Street campus.

Athletic Hall of Fame inductees include several student athletes, coaches, and teams that have attained distinction at the College. These include: Harry Rapley ’38 (Football, Basketball, Track and Field), Hardy Fuchs ’68 (Soccer Coach),Dennis Kane ’75 (Football), Jim Hosner ’78 (Tennis), Emily Trahan ’03 (Volleyball), the 1976 and 1978 Men’s Tennis Teams, and the 1988 Men’s Soccer Team.

Jane (Hunter) Parker ’48, Tom Smith ’55 and Mary Lou (Schofield) Smith ’55, and Karen (Lake) De Vos ’59 each received a 2010 Emeritus Club Citation of Merit award by demonstrating their affection for Kalamazoo College through their loyalty, involvement, and service to the College; their continued financial support; and their civic, church, school, and community activities that reflect credit upon the College.

Founded in Kalamazoo in 1833, Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu) is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the “K-Plan” that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, learning by practice, and both international and intercultural engagement.

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Kalamazoo College Selects Jaime Grant as Executive Director for Its Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership

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CONTACT: Jim VanSweden, 269.337.7291

June 28, 2010

(KALAMAZOO, Michigan) June 28, 2010 – After a national search, Kalamazoo College has named Jaime M. Grant, Ph.D., as executive director of its Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL). She will begin her duties September 1.

Grant has worked for more than 20 years with a variety of national and international organizations focused on social justice and human rights for women, youth, and the LGBT community, as well as victims of sexual and domestic assault, and the mentally ill.

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (https://reason.kzoo.edu/csjl) is a new initiative by Kalamazoo College, launched in 2009 with a two-year, $2.1 million grant from the Arcus Foundation (www.arcusfoundation.org). Its purpose is to explore, cultivate, and engage in the study and practice of social justice leadership.

“We are very excited to have someone of Jaime Grant’s caliber and range of experience join Kalamazoo College,” said “K” President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran. “She has a deep passion and demonstrated commitment to social justice, and a substantial record of accomplishment as a leader who can foster collaboration and a sense of shared purpose. In her role as the executive director, Dr. Grant will provide leadership as Kalamazoo College works to become recognized nationally and internationally as the place to look for original thinking about social justice and social justice leadership.”

Since Nov. 2007, Grant has served as director of the Policy Institute at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the nation’s premiere LGBT think tank located in Washington, D.C. Before that, she was Program Director for “Leadership for a Changing World” (LCW) at The Advocacy Institute, also in Washington. LCW is the Ford Foundation’s signature leadership awards program, and recognizes and supports community leaders across America who are effectively tackling tough social issues.

“I’m thrilled to join Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership,” said Grant. “Kalamazoo’s tradition of combining top-quality, liberal arts academics with experiential learning makes it an ideal place to establish a first-of-its-kind academy-based social justice leadership center.

“The new center will add value to a ‘K’ education, while fueling social change efforts in the U.S. and abroad, and nurturing the next generation of leaders,” she said.

Grant has published in major academic journals and her commentaries have appeared broadly in popular publications and the consumer press. Her recent work at the Task Force has included a national Census advocacy campaign, and a policy paper on issues of aging facing the LGBT aging community. The projects she is currently completing include a visioning document for advocates working on family policy.

Grant has a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Wesleyan University, a master’s degree in women’s studies from Bucknell University, and a Ph.D. in women’s studies from The Union Institute, where she served as director from 1993 to 2000.

Her duties at Kalamazoo College will include maintaining and augmenting the vision for the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, while overseeing a range of programs, developing international and domestic partnerships, and working with College faculty, staff, and students on innovative projects and practices in social justice leadership.

Current programming to support the ACSJL mission includes project grants for “K” faculty, staff, and students; fellowships for “K” and visiting faculty; and a series of lectures and “convenings” in which visiting social justice leaders interact with members of the “K” campus and greater Kalamazoo community.

Founded in Kalamazoo in 1833, Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu) is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the “K-Plan” that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, learning by practice, and both international and intercultural engagement.

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Kalamazoo College Receives $400,000 Grant From W.K. Kellogg Foundation

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CONTACT: Jeff Palmer, 269.337.5724

April 9, 2010

Grant will help fund College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership
 activities and associate director position

Kalamazoo, Mich. (April 9, 2010) — Kalamazoo College has received a $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that will assist in the planning, development, and implementation of the curricula, programming, and learning opportunities for the College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. The grant will also fund, for three years, the position of associate director at the Center.

Donna Lartigue, a former Kellogg Foundation program director, has been hired to fill the associate director position beginning May 1. She will be responsible for helping to carry out the goals of the Kellogg Foundation grant and assisting Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Interim Director Carol Anderson in day-to-day operations until a permanent executive director and academic director are hired. Nationwide searches for both are underway. Candidates are being interviewed and selections will be announced later this spring.

Currently in its first year of operation, Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership offers lectures by individuals who are recognized nationally and internationally for their work in the field of social justice; short-term residencies for scholars, artists, and activists who will interact with the campus and the local community; opportunities for the development of new courses and leadership programs in the area of social justice and human rights; and conferences that address major issues related to the creation of a more just world.

A kickoff lecture—open to the public—will be held Tuesday April 13 at 8 p.m. in Dalton Theatre in the Light Fine Arts Building on the Kalamazoo College campus. Joia Mukherjee, M.D., medical director of Partners in Health will speak on the topic “Learning from Haiti: Relief and Long-Term Partnerships in the Developing World.” Partners in Health was founded in 1987 by Paul Farmer, M.D. Dr. Mukherjee has spent much of the past three months in Haiti helping to mobilize grassroots community health workers and rebuild the capacity of Haiti’s public sector to provide health care and other essential social services.

From 2003-09, Donna Lartigue served as a program director with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, leading its hometown grant making initiatives and providing support to its civic engagement, nonprofit effectiveness, and women’s philanthropy programming. She was a senior program officer at Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City from 1991-2002, where she led its comprehensive high school reform and school-to-work program investments. Prior to that, she worked for the Missouri State Department of Economic Development, the City of Springfield (Mo.) Job Council of the Ozarks, and as a middle school teacher in Augusta, Georgia.

Established in 1930, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and southern Africa. For further information, please visit the Foundation’s website at www.wkkf.org.

Founded in Kalamazoo in 1833, Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu) is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the “K-Plan” that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, learning through practice, service learning, international and intercultural engagement, and a senior independent project.

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Living Sport: Kalamazoo College Event Gathers Nationally-Renowned Sports Entrepreneurs

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CONTACT: Jim Van Sweden, 269.337.7291

April 6, 2010

[KALAMAZOO, Mich.] A Kalamazoo College liberal arts student is likely to know Sun Tzu and the CEOs and coaches who cite The Art of War in business management and sports. Whether such broad liberal arts learning is an advantage when it comes to making a living in the business of sports will be among the subjects of a panel discussion titled “Careers in Sports Business.” The event features six prominent panelists (some available for media interviews) and occurs Monday, April 19, at 7 PM in Dewing Hall Room 103.

A quarter of “K” students participate in intercollegiate athletics, and the school’s economics and business major is among its three most popular. Panelists will share their pathways to their current positions; discuss present and future business opportunities in sports management; explore the importance of mentorship and networking for gaining a foothold in the business of athletics; speculate on counterfactual “what-ifs” in their careers; and provide key advice for soon-to-be graduates seeking careers that connect their interests in sports and business.

Panelists, half of whom are Kalamazoo College alumni, include Charles Tucker (Class of 1956), president and CEO of The Sports Network; Storm T. Kirschenbaum, president of Metis Sports Management; Kathy DeBoer, executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association; Timon Corwin (Class of 1986), United States Tennis Association senior director of junior and collegiate competition; Kurt David, bestselling sports author and transition consultant for professional and Olympic athletes; and Jeff Pellegrom (Class of 1988), executive vice president and chief financial officer of Minnesota Sports and Entertainment.

Timon Corwin is an eight-time All-American in singles and doubles with the Kalamazoo College men’s team (1983-86). He led the 1986 squad to a NCAA Division III team championship title. He completed a post-graduate fellowship in Bonn, Germany, in 1987 and earned his law degree (Marquette University School of Law) in 1992. He was head coach for the Kalamazoo College men’s tennis team from 1993 to 2007, and his teams finished third or higher in the nation six times. He was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year (1997) and Midwest Regional Coach of the Year (1999). Today he is senior director for the junior and collegiate competition for United States Tennis Association Player Development. This year he also will direct the U.S. Open Junior Championships and the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.

Kurt A. David is the bestselling author of From Glory Days, a book that chronicles the transition of 20 professional athletes from their playing days to life after sports. David graduated (B.A., Elementary Education) from Saginaw Valley State University and earned a M.A. (counseling) from Central Michigan University. He played professional basketball in Europe. He has appeared on radio and television and in a number of articles. He is a nationally certified sports counselor who works with professional and Olympic athletes as they transition to life outside of sports. He is the host and producer of From Glory Days television program.

Kathy DeBoer has been executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association since 2006, and during her tenure AVCA membership has grown by 36 percent and annual convention attendance has increased by nearly 30 percent. Prior to AVCA she spent 23 years in intercollegiate athletics, 18 of them at University of Kentucky as head volleyball coach and senior associate athletic director. She holds a B.A. (Humanities, Michigan State University) and M.B.A. (University of Kentucky). She’s a nationally known public speaker on the impact of gender in competitive behavior in business and sports settings and the author of Gender and Competition: How Men and Women Approach Work and Play Differently.

Sports attorney Storm Kirschenbaum formed Metis Sports Management, LLC, in 2007. The firm represents and markets professional football and baseball players (Kirschenbaum himself has represented nearly 100 professional athletes). Kirschenbaum won a scholarship from then number-one-ranked University of Florida, where he played with David Eckstein (San Diego Padres), Brad Wilkerson (Boston Red Sox), Mark Ellis (Oakland Athletics), and Josh Fogg (Colorado Rockies). He played his final two collegiate seasons at Division I Long Island University-C.W. Post. He holds a B.A. (political science, magna cum laude) and a J.D. (University of Detroit Mercy School of Law). At Mercy he was president of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society. He served three years as vice president of Integrity Sports Player Representation, Inc., and co-founded the Michigan Boxing Hall of Fame. He is a board member of the Inner City Exposure Foundation.

Jeff Pellegrom serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Minnesota Sports and Entertainment (MSE), which owns and controls the Minnesota Wild Hockey Club and the Houston Aeros Hockey Club.  MSE also manages all events at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Pellegrom oversees the finance, human resources, information technology and legal departments for the company.  He graduated from Kalamazoo College (magna cum laude) with degrees in economics and mathematics.  He worked for the Brookings Institution, 3M, Holderbank, and SC Johnson, before taking a position 2 years ago with MSE.  He is married to fellow Kalamazoo College graduate Mary Kruger Pellegrom (Class of 1988), and they have four children.

The Bronx born and reared Charles Tucker, a.k.a. Mickey Charles, is the founder of The Sports Network, the world’s largest independently owned supplier of sports scores and information, with more than 2,000 outlets in the world. He launched that business 27 years ago from his kitchen, and like all great athletes, has never rested on his laurels. Today TSN is expanding geographically (into China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Algeria, among others) and technologically (complementing its saturation of websites by expanding to the mobile phone). He developed his competitive fire on the “city game’s” New York asphalt courts (where “no autopsy, no foul” was the rule). He transferred to Kalamazoo College from Columbia University and played for two seasons on the Hornet basketball team. He was named team captain his senior season, and led that squad to a 14-9 record and a second place finish in the MIAA conference. He earned his law degree (Brooklyn Law School) and began a career as a sports columnist for several newspapers and magazines (including the Philadelphia Inquirer), as a television sports talk-show host (for CBS and later ESPN), as a college English Professor (St. Joseph College in Philadelphia) and then, in 1983, as the founder of a sports scores telephone service that evolved into TSN. He is a popular public speaker who was once offered a contract as an opening-act stand-up comedian.

Founded in Kalamazoo in 1833, Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu) is a nationally recognized liberal arts college and the creator of the “K-Plan” that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, learning by practice, and both international and intercultural engagement.

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